Maintenance, Repair, and Operational Supplies (MRO)

In partnership with CIPS, RS welcomes you to the exclusive CIPS knowledge area for MRO procurement. We’re committed to driving procurement excellence as an enabler for growth and in this area we will share best practice, advice and thought leadership with CIPS Members.

Through the knowledge shared in this area we aim to support you to optimise suppliers and processes and help define cost-saving strategies to reduce the true cost of procurement, which is significantly more than simply the cost of products.

Complexities of MRO Procurement

The pressures facing procurement professionals today

Procurement professionals are under pressure. This may come as no surprise, particularly for those working in the sector, but a recent survey among Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) members has shed light on the extent of the current pressure for the complex Indirect procurement category for MRO supplies.

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Strategies for managing MRO

MRO procurement is complex. Engineers who are based across multiple sites may be making thousands of low-value purchases, meaning agreeing upon and adhering to a single MRO purchasing strategy is difficult.

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What factors are driving change in procurement for MRO?

Several factors are driving this change, from internal pressures to reduce costs to external factors such as Brexit. The survey, which forms the basis of the Indirect Procurement Report 2018: drivers of change and how to respond whitepaper by RS Components and CIPS, generated insight into drivers of change. factors.

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The Indirect Procurement Report 2018 - MRO - Drivers of Change

The 2nd annual piece of CIPS & RS Components research on the challenges and opportunities for MRO supplies. The report looks at the latest view of procurement and supply chain professionals on the MRO category. Areas of focus are: pressures organisations face, managing inventory and supplier knowledge, stakeholder management, innovation and external factors.

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Process Cost Calculator

The supply chain for indirect materials is complex. Understanding the process costs related to what you’re sourcing and purchasing will enable you to continuously improve and give greater visibility of your total costs. Process costs can be twice the amount spent on products and typically the average process cost for an order is around £80. We’ve developed a process cost calculator to help provide guidance to CIPS members.

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The consolidated approach to MRO

As businesses from all industries look at ways to cut their operational expenditure, the need to make the MRO (maintenance repair and operations) procurement process more efficient has become increasingly important. One of the biggest weapons a procurement team has against excessive indirect spending (and the various soft costs incurred by having an inefficient process) is consolidating suppliers.

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How do you cut MRO costs

In our article ‘What is MRO procurement?’, we explained the importance of indirect procurement costs and how, with this type of purchase, the average organisation spends £2 on process costs to every £1 spent on the actual product. While the product cost is still worth considering, organisations that focus solely on cost are missing the big picture and they may actually end up spending much more money on their process than they save by finding or negotiating a cheaper product.

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MRO in focus

Recent research conducted by RS and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) provided a snapshot of the major issues and trends that procurement professionals have noticed regarding indirect procurement.

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With rapidly evolving technology set to dramatically impact the indirect procurement supply chain, procurement teams need to stay ahead of the curve to avoid drifting into obscurity

Blockbuster, MySpace, Kodak, Blackberry – names that were once at the forefront of their respective industries that didn’t move with the times and have stagnated or, in Blockbuster’s case, disappeared altogether. The common theme among these businesses was a failure to adapt to change – whether it was changing customer demands or new technology changing the marketplace.

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Preparing for change: The evolution of MRO Procurement

In this white paper RS & CIPS analyse research conducted with procurement professionals on the challenges of indirect procurement and MRO supplies. Expert opinion is provided explaining what the findings mean for business and how MRO strategies are going to need to adapt to change in a rapidly evolving environment.

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Knowledge Economy

Embracing social media: This anecdotal evidence is not the only sign things are changing, that procurement professionals are, albeit slowly, beginning to embrace social media and digital technologies to improve procurement processes, collaboration, risk and exception management, R&D, innovation and CPD.

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De-risking the global supply chain

Supply chain risk is an incredibly important area of business – this is because most companies have global supply chains that they rely on to transport products to and from other parts of the world. RS’s Charlie Jenkinson reveals the biggest risks and explains how working with the right supplier can help businesses to avoid them.

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Removing hidden costs from the NHS

A glance at any daily newspaper will tell you that the NHS is under severe budgetary pressure, often with tensions between employees and the government as a collective solution to paying for the nation's long-term healthcare is sought. With most NHS trusts facing a funding deficit, there is an urgent need for cost efficiencies.

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A recent survey of procurement professionals conducted by RS Components via Management Insider magazine provides an interesting snapshot into the issues facing the profession. When asked what was the most important issue they faced, 43% of respondents stated that they wanted to “simplify the end-to-end procurement process” – the most common response received.

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Complexity conceals potential cost savings

This white paper outlines the three key methods of unravelling MRO complexity by focusing on involving all relevant stakeholders, analysing consumption data and accurately tracking any savings achieved.

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Use of these links will take you away from the CIPS website to internet sites maintained by third-parties. You assume sole responsibility for the use of all third-party links. CIPS provides these links as a convenience and accepts no responsibility for content, errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

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Five ways MRO procurement is set to change

What are the biggest disruptors revolutionising the indirect procurement process and what are the main drivers of this change? How will they impact MRO procurement for orgainsations? In our whitepaper we list the five most significant developments impacting the indirect procurement process.

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The Role of MRO In Business Effectiveness

This report explains how MRO procurement can have an impact on the overall effectiveness of an organisation. By improving MRO efficiency a company can both cut its costs and improve its operational effectiveness by reducing downtime, speeding up repairs and ensuring deliveries are made on time.

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The secret of good internal communications

According to a survey by global research firm ORC International, when it comes to employee engagement the UK lags well behind the rest of the world – in 18th place out of 20 countries. Only 37% of UK employees feel encouraged to be innovative and less than half (49%) feel valued at work. Kate Jones, Chair of the Institute of Internal Communication, explains why employee engagement is vital to business success.

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Five steps to increased productivity

Whether UK businesses see the decision of the British public to leave the EU as an opportunity or a disaster, one thing that is guaranteed over the next two years is uncertainty. Until a deal is finalised and the repercussions (good and bad) of Brexit are known, businesses both big and small will face a period of uneasiness.

Four business leaders share their expert advice on how to boost productivity.

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Putting the quality in quality management

Quality management is widely regarded as the umbrella name for three important elements of running a business – quality assurance, which provides customers with confidence in the overall quality of your products and services; quality control, which looks at fulfilling the required levels of quality; and quality improvement, where you look to continually improve the quality throughout your organisation.

Robert Gordon University’s Dr Lowellyne James outlines the key steps in achieving quality management across your business and in the supply chain.

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Collaboration is king

Collaboration within organisations - fuelled by advances in technology - is on the increase, but how can you encourage productive collaboration, both internally and externally? Dr John Glen, director for customised executive development at Cranfield School of Management and CIPS Economist makes the point that most medium-to-large businesses have multiple divisions and that their success depends on how well these divisions work together.

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Understanding the distinct nature of MRO costs

Many organisations overlook or underestimate MRO costs due to the complexity of the process. The report outlines why indirect costs are often missed compared with direct procurement, but suggests that MRO is actually very costly because it consumes a large amount of time and effort during the purchasing process.

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Why consumption profiling is key to determining the best MRO procurement savings strategy

This white paper highlights the importance of data to an effective MRO strategy. Organisations are recommended to create a detailed consumption profile that shows the volume and frequency of products that are purchased. This information can be used to identify cost savings and efficiencies.

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Use of these links will take you away from the CIPS website to internet sites maintained by third-parties. You assume sole responsibility for the use of all third-party links. CIPS provides these links as a convenience and accepts no responsibility for content, errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

While a dedicated department handles most direct procurement, when it comes to MRO, the process usually involves multiple stakeholders. This article discusses how a chane in strategy can lead to significant savings when it comes to setting KPIs for MRO procurement.

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Adapting to the future

Procurement, and business in general, never stands still. Because technology, culture and values continually evolve at a rapid pace, it’s more important than ever for organisations and their senior people to adapt to change and prepare for what is around the corner.

Nicola Robinson from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) looks at how organisations and their leaders can stay ahead of the curve and flourish.

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Putting customers before price

Finding the right suppliers is crucial in any organisation and procurement teams need to know there are significant risks and cost implications if they choose the wrong one. RS industry sector manager Chris Cruise explains why procurement teams should put service levels before cost cutting.

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The future is eProcurement

Procurement purchases can generally be split into two categories – traditional, paper-based requisitions, and electronic, or eProcurement, where organisations use a business-wide digital platform to procure goods.

RS’s Simon Roberts explains why eProcurement is a logical step for most organisations and what to consider when making the switch.

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Use of these links will take you away from the CIPS website to internet sites maintained by third-parties. You assume sole responsibility for the use of all third-party links. CIPS provides these links as a convenience and accepts no responsibility for content, errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

RS is the global distributor for engineers. With operations in 32 countries, we ship more than 44,000 parcels a day from our range of more than 500,000 products to over one million customers. Our products, sourced from 2,500 leading suppliers, include electronic components, electrical, automation and control, test and measurement equipment, and engineering tools and consumables. We also have our own range – RS Pro – offering choice where a combination of quality, performance and price create exceptional value.

We hold our huge inventory in distribution centres around the world so that our customers can minimise their own stock, and our globally-connected freight network delivers a fast, reliable service.

Since 1937, RS has been dedicated to service excellence, providing a one-stop source for everything engineers need. Our customers include electronics design engineers, panel builders, maintenance engineers, and buyers. They choose us for our availability and broad range of products, the reliable service we provide, our knowledge and expertise, and because we’re easy to do business with.

Our multi-channel approach meets each of our customers’ needs: online, in person, by phone, fax or email. eCommerce is our largest channel and is revolutionising the way we do business.Our award-winning team of local customer service professionals is just a call or a Live Chat away, providing knowledgeable and friendly support 24/7.

DesignSpark

DesignSpark is our interactive community for design engineers and has nearly half a million members from around the world. Here you can download free 3D design software to help our customers boost productivity and save money. This includes our award winning DesignSpark PCB electronics software, used for schematic designs, DesignSpark Mechanical, used to quickly create and modify 3D designs and DesignSpark Electrical, for electrical system designs. These software solutions are an enabler for innovation design and rapid prototyping.

Corporate Responsibility

Through our offices and distribution centres around the world, we have strong links with our local communities. We encourage people to be involved with charitable activities to ensure maximum employee engagement. We donate products and we corporate match donations. During 2016, our global fundraising reached £100,000.

We have worked with international development charity Practical Action to use technology to challenge poverty in developing countries. The charity enables poor communities to build skills and knowledge to produce sustainable and practical solutions to transform lives. During 2016, we have supported their proposal for UK Aid Match, a government initiative to provide grants to UK based NGO’s for poverty reduction projects in developing countries and raised awareness of their Pumpkins Against Poverty project in Bangladesh .

University Partner Programme and Formula Student

Helping develop and work with the future generation of engineers, a number of universities around the world have signed up to our programme where local RS teams work closely with department heads and educators, providing tailored and practical support as part of a long term commitment of co-operation. This includes training and support of our free DesignSpark software tools, an annual allowance to spend on RS product, grants for projects and scholarships, closer industry links and internship opportunities.

In addition to this partner programme, RS works with a number of universities in the UK, Australia and Germany as part of the formula student programme, run by The Institute of Mechanical Engineers that aims to inspire and develop enterprising and innovative young engineers. The challenge is to create a single-seat racing car and is typically part of the student’s engineer’s degree course and RS donates products to be used in the planning and construction of the cars.

In schools, we sponsor Land Rover 4x4, an international STEM technology challenge aimed at key stage 3, 4 and 5 students. Teams work together to design and build a radio controlled four wheel-drive that has to successfully negotiate a specially designed track.

Driving Procurement Efficiency

We continue to evolve our service offer to deliver innovation and inspiration to engineers worldwide so that they can do their business better.

Procurement decision makers in any business sector are challenged with a changing world, financial pressures and demanding stakeholders. They need suppliers with a partnership mentality who can help them strive for efficiency and effectiveness in supply management, which is a complicated topic but the route to a successful business.

RS shares a commitment to driving procurement excellence as an enabler for growth. We work with customers to help improve their supply management process to realise commercial success.

We are excited to be working with CIPS to share best practice and help achieve excellence in maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) procurement.